When we got the entertainment calendar up and running one of the most aggressive and dedicated posters of events was Brass_A_Holics whom Boo and I had never really experienced, but who had so much marketing material online with video links, I could see and hear enough to know that they were the the kind of quality artists we are trying to expose to our growing CrescentCityLive.com audience. The two founders, Winston Turner (trumpet) and Tannon Williams (trombone) were playing with brass bands and decided to do something different. Obviously the heart of their sound is the brass band fire and heat that flows from their horns to which they have added Robin Clabby upfront on saxophone, Keiko Komaki on keyboard (with a bad ass Hammond b3 sample) and Matt Clark a rocker guitarist. In the back and responsible for a backbeat, bouncing, go-go gotta get up and dance poly-rhythmic pulse are Jason “Slick Slack” on the bass horn, Ricky Caesar on drumset and Dwayne Muhammad on percussion. (His mamma must have jammed to Chuck Brown while she was pregnant).

The Brass-A-Holics threw down a two hour show without a pause. Some coners of familiar tunes, but a lot of original music, with almost everyone taking a turn on vocals, which to me may be their weak link in their quest for stardom, their Philip Bailey, someone who can wow people vocally to match what they do instrumentally, but as far as fitting into the local music scene they've got it. It being the hard driving honest sound of our streets with the high energy of a rock performance and making it feel like it belongs together.

Click here to view our backstage interview with Brass-A-Holics and others
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